The Life of Amelie

Saturday, August 14, 2010

I usually stick to the mainstream women's health/fitness magazines, like Women's Health & Self but they always felt lacking in the info I was really looking for, namely practical meal ideas & workouts that felt new. I had seen this magazine on the newstand before but since many of the women are so buff (& some are even bodybuilders) I got scared off. But after many reccomendations from gals on a Fitness board I post on, I picked up an issue. Wow! This is exactly what I've been looking for! Lots of workout moves, none of that "Try this new walking workout!". And they whole magazine is focused on "clean eating". And while I haven't committed myself to that diet, I do like the straight forward approach. (Maybe I'll try to work that in with my calorie counting (that way I can still feel like I can eat chocolate & desserts. I can't ban anything without getting bitchy. lol)If you are bored by the same-old fitness magazines, pick up an issue of this. You won't be disappointed.

So far, this is my favorite September issue. I dog-earred a lot of pages & made a lot of notes.

Fashion: I love how Bazaar often pairs a photo shoot with a few paragraphs or even a page of writing about the fashions they have shown. Makes it more accessible somehow. Anyway, in this issue they have an Accessories Special featureing leopard, skins & the color red, an article titled Secrets of Efortless Style, The New Fashion Flock, Where Have All the Bras Gone? & Bringing Mystery Back. They also have a How to Wear It Guide (like pairing camel w/caramel accessories, olive with florals, etc) & How to Wear Pantsuits. There is a tribute to Daisy Fellowes, an interview of Marc Jacobs by Calvin Klein, and a 1 page write up about The Row. They have 2 pages of couture & a really cool fashion shoot with Rachel Zoe as the subject, posing with various big name designers. Zoe did a very good job & the pics are very artistic.Nothing worth mentioning as far as beauty goes.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury"In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury's classic, frightening vision of the future, firemen don't put out fires--they start them in order to burn books. Bradbury's vividly painted society holds up the appearance of happiness as the highest goal--a place where trivial information is good, and knowledge and ideas are bad. Fire Captain Beatty explains it this way, "Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs.... Don't give them slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with. That way lies melancholy."

Guy Montag is a book-burning fireman undergoing a crisis of faith. His wife spends all day with her television "family," imploring Montag to work harder so that they can afford a fourth TV wall. Their dull, empty life sharply contrasts with that of his next-door neighbor Clarisse, a young girl thrilled by the ideas in books, and more interested in what she can see in the world around her than in the mindless chatter of the tube. When Clarisse disappears mysteriously, Montag is moved to make some changes, and starts hiding books in his home. Eventually, his wife turns him in, and he must answer the call to burn his secret cache of books. After fleeing to avoid arrest, Montag winds up joining an outlaw band of scholars who keep the contents of books in their heads, waiting for the time society will once again need the wisdom of literature." taken from Amazon.com

I was surprised I didn't enjoy this more. It could've just been my mood at the time (my mood determines more than I would like) but while the story was interesting, frustrating, & sad, I didn't really feel connected to the main character. I think I will need to read this again another time

This really is the Project Runway magazine isn't it? This issue they have an article about the PR casting call, Nina has a page titled Nina's Guide to Getting Dressed (I do love her books so my only complaint here is that it wasn't a longer article) & Gunn's Laws (comfort is overrated, be nice, etc). I'm surprised they didn't take Michael Kors from Glamour.This wasn't my favorite issue for fashion. The Big Girl in a Skinny World column talks about her must-haves but other than that & Nina & Tims columns, I didn't make any other fashion related notes.This issue did have more in the way of beauty. The Beauty Passport is on facialists secrets, Beauty Snoop is about Evan Rachel Wood, they have a bunch of makeup & hair product picks in their Lady & the Vamp section, the Foreign Beauty Report was on Bali (duh, seeing that Eat, Pray, Love is coming out soon) & there is a one page write up about a the makeup, etc in a French Cabaret.Quite a few interesting articles, including how stay at home dads are the new status symbol for working women, a really infurating article about the backlog of untested rape kits & an article about What Women Eat in different parts of the world. It includes calorie counts, etc & lists the women's height & weight. Seems misleading though since often the calorie counts are quite high but the women are still quite slim. They should've included how much physical activity the women do since that would be a huge contributing factor. But I believe this was taken from a book on the subject so it was out of MC's hands. Funny thing, the American featured in the mag ate only fast food. lol.

If you are looking for fall fashion inspiration, I would keep looking. But if you want a few interesting articles to read, it might be worth it.

Articles: 5 Health Truths to Live By (don't trust your Dr blindly, getting dirty is good for you, your drink of choice should be water, etc), a long article about anxiety which talks about drugs, therapy & info about panic attacks. 12 Things I Wish I Knew About Love at 21 (be interesting, fine line between teasing & criticizing, don't compare your life to your friends...). Would You Be Friends with You? New Qs about Love & Sex (sexting, the difference between hot, beautiful & cute, group dates, etc). Also an article about popular celeb workouts, new school, such as TRX Suspension Trainer, & old school, like running & yoga.

The Samsung article in this issue is about the people's favorite leading ladies (Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet) & What if the characters were real, who would you want to have as your BFFs? (SATC) Who would you want as your boss? (Liz Lemon)

Again, not a bad issue but I didn't really love it. Not sure what I'm looking for but I haven't found it yet.

Finally!! The start of the September issues! Gotta love the fresh feel of starting a new season. Plus I'm sick of dealing with it being 100 degrees every day.

The most interesting thing about this issue were the ads. Apparently GAP has a new black pant collection coming out that looks really great. There are also some great looking items at KMart, the military jacket in particular has caught my attention. Also, there is a Samsung ad that I've noticed in a few of the September issues that is made to look like a magazine article & is actually worth reading. In this issue its on the big fashion inspirations seen in movies & music.

Anyway, onto the Fashion in this issue. Mini trends are red & black together, ruffles, layered lace. Capes are back (I think they're classic & very chic is done right - think Carrie in SATC in the Fleet Week episode). This issue also has the Fall Shoe Guide (styles include lots of different kinds of boots, girly flats, strappy heels, etc). Photo spreads on Retro Modern (some very cute looks) & Uniformly Chic (juxiposition of hard & soft, masculine & feminine).For Beauty, they had a very nice article on red lipstick & recommended shades in categories such as matte, classic reds, liquid, sheer, etc.